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 I just returned from spending 2 glorious days of R&R in Newport, Rhode Island with a few friends. What a great time of year. The trees and flowers were in bloom and budding and the weather was spectacular. It did not feel like mid-April, and it was a wonderful change of pace. Ocean Drive was beautiful, The Inn at Castle Hill provided an unforgettable setting for cocktails on the lawn at sunset, the food at Scales and Shells and
The Rhode Island Quahog Company, as always, was amazing, and the company was superb. WOW!! It was a taste of the good times to come this spring and summer.
There is a sense of rebirth in the air in the spring real estate market, causing a nice change of pace there too. The media is continuing to strike a more positive chord (albeit occasional) in reporting about the market.
Buyers right now have an incredible opportunity and the reason lies in a previous post of mine. The cut in interest rates that is being reported is not reaching the purchase market. The rates for mortgages are vacillating, but the prediction is that the overall trend will be to rise. So, while prices may continue to fall a little more before stabilizing (and then begin the upward rise), the impact of 1/2-1% increase in the interest rate will end up costing the buyer's monthly mortgage payment to be higher in the long run.
Many local communities are seeing enough inventory to last 9-12 months, and sellers are being negotiable.
Buyers are definitely out buying and in some cases competing with multiple offers on the right property. In a spring market with so many buyers looking, a house that has been on the market for 6 months may lead buyers to think they have ample time to see "how low it will go" only to have it snatched away from them.
New concerns for sellers are being fueled by daily reporting about the increasingly stringent lending standards. One tool the buyer can put into their tool belt to give them a competitive edge is to have an approval subject to appraisal ready and waiting. This strategy alone can compel a seller to possibly consider a lower offer (especially if they are reviewing more than one offer).
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